Win or Learn: Shane Battier on Energy’s March Madness Moment
From Political Climate by Political Climate
March 31, 2026 · 56 min
About this episode
Shane Battier discusses the parallels between March Madness and the energy sector, exploring recent developments and strategies shaping the industry.
March was defined by blown predictions, resilience, wins, losses, and last-minute turnarounds—and not just in college basketball. In many ways, those same forces are shaping the energy sector today. Shane Battier—NCAA champion at Duke in 2001 and two-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat—knows a thing or two about performing under pressure. Now, he’s bringing that playbook to cleantech. In this episode of Political Climate, we sit down with Shane to talk about what March Madness can teach us beyond the court. Then, we shift gears to break down some of the latest developments across the energy landscape, including: 21:45 - Key takeaways from CERA Week 30:40 - Powering AI: contrasting projects from Google and SB Energy 33:11 - New efforts to boost grid utilization— not just build out 38:02 - A surprising coal comeback in Alaska an beyond 43:14 - vWhy the U.S. is paying TotalEnergies $1 billion to abandon offshore wind plans 48:24 - A Democratic bid to lower costs by restoring tax clean energy tax credits From the Final Four to the future of the grid—this episode covers the strategies, setbacks, and big bets shaping energy today. Political Climate is presented by ClearPath, one of…
People in this episode
Guest: Shane Battier
Topics covered
- energy
- March Madness
- cleantech
- CERA Week
- grid utilization
- coal comeback
- offshore wind
- clean energy tax credits
Keywords
- NCAA
- NBA
- energy landscape
- AI projects
- TotalEnergies
- Democratic bid
Sponsors
ClearPath
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Google, SB Energy
Books & works: Political Climate
Places: Alaska, U.S.
More episodes of Political Climate
- Will EVs Surge Amid Iran Oil Shocks? · April 13, 2026 · 56 min
- Energy Shocks: Iran, AI, and the 2026 Midterms · March 12, 2026 · 58 min
- Unpacking a Volatile Year in Climate and Energy · December 19, 2025 · 57 min
- Inside the American Energy + AI Initiative · December 9, 2025 · 59 min
- America's Critical Minerals Crisis · November 24, 2025 · 54 min
- How FERC and Your Home Could Fast-Track AI Power · November 7, 2025 · 56 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Political Climate podcast page.